Fun Angles Lesson Ideas
Angles are everywhere! Why not take advantage of that in your lesson? Make geometry hands-on with these fun angles lesson ideas.
Concepts for Angles Lessons
Anywhere two straight lines meet, you will find an angle.
Learning about angles is an important part of math; it is one of the first concepts in geometry (not mention the foundation of trigonometry).
Angles lessons may include the following concepts:
- measuring angles
- identifying right angles
- recognizing acute, right, obtuse, and straight angles
- finding complementary and supplementary angles
- identifying vertical angles
- understanding opposite and adjacent angles
- adding angles
- drawing angles
You can teach these lessons in a traditional way, or you can use these activity ideas to make your angles lessons fun and engaging.
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Materials for Angles Lessons
Students will need a protractor to draw and measure angles.
This style of student protractor is easy for students to use. It is small, which makes measuring tiny angles in math books a breeze.
The only drawback? This protractor is clear.
While that helps you see the angles underneath, it also means that the protractor is easy to lose (even in plain sight).
Alternatively, you could use this set of colored protractors with your class.
Teaching protractors are designed for teachers to use on the whiteboard. They are large enough for students to see from a distance.
Some of them, like this one, are magnetic, so they will stick to the board.
You may also need rulers and set squares (also called triangle rulers) for certain angles lessons. This class set has everything.
And grab this Angles Activity Packet for students to demonstrate learning.
Fun Angles Lesson Ideas
Supplement your angles lesson with these activities.
Angles in the Classroom
You have all kinds of angles in your classroom!
Get students on the move with protractors, pencils, and paper to measure and record the angles of various objects.
Here are some ideas:
- wedge erasers
- trapezoid tables
- books
- shelves
- book bins
- anything triangular (like pennants and flags)
- clock hands
- open books
Shadow Angles
Take your lesson outside to measure shadows on the playground.
As an option, you can trace them with chalk and then measure them.
You may find it easier to do this with a teaching protractor.
Angle Photo Scavenger Hunt
Give students a list of angles you want them to find: 30, 45, 60, 90 degrees, etc.
Have them walk around with tablets, finding potential items with those angles, measuring them, and snapping a photo with the tablet.
At the end of the activity, you can collect the photos, print them, and make a Wall of Angles bulletin board.
Human Angles
Have kids work in small groups to form different types of angles.
One person can be the vertex (they scrunch into a ball).
Two other people form the sides of the angle.
You can call out angle types for the students to make: acute, obtuse, straight, right, adjacent, or opposite angles.
Pizza Angles
Print a bunch of copies of a picture or drawing of a pizza.
Have the students work in small groups to make pizza slices with different angles.
They will need to use their protractors to draw angles of various sizes.
You can end the activity by eating real slices of pizza!
Spiderweb Floor Angles
Clear the desks from the floor. Using painter’s tape, make a spiderweb of intersecting lines.
Create angles of all sizes.
Label certain angles with sticky notes, and have students measure those angles.
Angle Art – Basic
Use rulers and set squares to make a drawing entirely of lines and angles. Then, color it in.
Angle Art – Advanced
Give students a drawing prompt that requires them to make an angle (or angles) of specific measurements.
Then, they need to incorporate that angle into a picture of their choice.
Angle Sort Relay
Make cards with various angles on them: acute, right, obtuse, and straight. Do not label the cards with the angle type; draw the angle.
Then, label four columns on the whiteboard: acute, right, obtuse, and straight.
Have the students work in teams to draw a card and stick it in the correct column.
The first team to correctly sort all their angle cards wins.
Online Angles
Use digital tools to draw and measure angles.
GeoGebra has a free online drawing and measuring tool where students can experiment with drawing and measuring angles of various sizes.
Angle Game Show
Create a game show with various challenges.
Students can estimate angle sizes and then measure the angle. The student whose estimate was closest wins the point.
Or you can quiz them on angle terminology, such as adjacent, supplementary, and complementary angles.
Angle Freeze Dance
Turn on some tunes (check out this classroom-friendly playlist) and have a dance party.
Then call out an angle and have students freeze while making that angle with their arms or legs.
Angle Activities for Angle Lessons
These creative and interactive angles lesson ideas will make math a favorite subject for your students.
Math is more than in a book or on a whiteboard; it is all around you!
Show students the fun side of math with these fun angles lesson ideas.
